What Is Cybersecurity Compliance? [Updated 2024]

• 10 October, 2023
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Cybersecurity Compliance has become a vital defense against potential breaches and data vulnerabilities in a time when cyber threats are a serious concern. It is the foundation of a strong security policy; it is not just a trendy phrase.

This article delves into the foundational ideas and subtleties of Cybersecurity Compliance, illuminating its significance, the regulatory environment, and how businesses can successfully negotiate this constantly shifting landscape to strengthen their online defenses.

Join us as we explore “What Is Cybersecurity Compliance?” and discover how to safeguard your important digital assets. Let’s focus on the Topic Now!

Why Is Compliance Important in Cybersecurity?

It’s not possible for any company to be fully secured from cyberattacks in daily life which ensures the need for cyber security compliance. It could put a hold on an organization’s capacity to succeed, run efficiently, and uphold security procedures.

Mostly Small or Medium Scale industries are the main target of such attacks. Sometimes SMBs don’t give a heck about cybersecurity at all which makes it easier for them to be on the target list resulting in being exploited by adversaries.

Only 40% of SMBs developed cybersecurity strategies in light of the remote work shift during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to a 2020 Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI) survey.

Sometimes, data breaches can result in huge commotion. That can also cause financial losses and goodwill loss. Lawsuits can be a major issue for companies dealing with cyberattacks. These are some of the reasons “Why is Compliance Important in Cybersecurity?”

Types of Data Subjected to Cybersecurity Compliance

Sensitive data, including 3 different categories, is the focus of the majority of cybersecurity and data protection laws.

1. Personally Identifiable Information (PII),
2. Financial Information, and
3. Protected Health Information (PHI).

These compliance requirements and rules may also apply to other kinds of sensitive information, including:

1. Race
2. Religion
3. Marital status
4. IP addresses
5. Email Addresses, Usernames, and Passwords
6. Biometric Data (fingerprints, facial recognition, and voice prints)

Benefits of Cybersecurity Compliance

Now you might want to know what are the benefits of cyber security compliance for an individual or a company. For that, you need to follow the mentioned information.

How to Start a Cybersecurity Compliance Program?

Now that you have come this far, we need to talk about how could you apply these changes to your organization/ resources. You could think of it as a hard achievable task at the beginning. For you, there are 5 tasks mentioned that you can follow to apply cybersecurity compliance.

1. Creating a Compliance Team

Cybersecurity Compliance is primarily driven by your company’s IT staff. When putting into practice a comprehensive compliance program, a compliance team must be formed.

While most cybersecurity procedures are normally handled by IT teams, overall cybersecurity does not exist in a vacuum.

In other words, cooperation amongst all divisions is required for a business to maintain a strong cybersecurity posture and support compliance efforts.

2. Setting Up a Risk Analysis Process

There are four fundamental steps in the risk analysis process, however, the names will differ depending on the compliance program:

1. Identify: Any networks, assets, or information systems that access data must be recognized.
2. Assess: Examine the information and determine each type’s risk level. In each site that data will visit over its lifetime, assign a risk score.
3. Analyze: To calculate risk, use the analysis formula below: Probability of Breach x Effect or Cost.
4. Set Tolerance: Choose whether to reduce, transfer, contest, or accept any identified risks.
5. Setting Controls: How to Mitigate or Transfer Risk

Setting up security measures to reduce or transfer cybersecurity risks would be the next stage. Cybersecurity control is a system for preventing, detecting, and reducing cyber threats and attacks.

Technical controls, like passwords and access control lists, or physical controls, like fences and security cameras, can be used as controls.

These controls can also be:

• Encryption
• Network firewalls
• Password policies
• Cyber insurance
• Employee training
• Incident response plan
• Access control
• Patch management schedule

4. Creating Policies

Once controls have been put in place, you must document any policies or instructions that IT teams, staff members, or other stakeholders need to follow.

The creation of these regulations will also be helpful for future internal and external audits.

5. Monitoring and Quick Response

Maintaining constant oversight of your compliance program is essential as new legislation or revised versions of old policies are released.

A compliance program’s objective is to recognize and control risks, as well as to identify and stop cyber threats before they become serious data breaches.

Additionally, it’s crucial to have business procedures in place that let you respond rapidly to threats.

Major Cybersecurity Regulations

Now, we will talk about some major cybersecurity regulations that help organizations secure their resources against online threats coming from unknown sources. With major updates like the following, one can prevent unwanted data breaches.

1. ISO 14001

Organizations can detect, manage, and lessen their environmental impacts with the aid of ISO 14001, an international standard for environmental management systems (EMS).

It offers a structure for developing, putting into action, and continuously enhancing environmental policies and practices. The ISO 14001 accreditation proves a dedication to environmental management and sustainability.

The seven guiding principles of ISO 14001 form the basis of a successful environmental management system (EMS):

• Context of the Organization,
• Leadership,
• Planning,
• Support,
• Operation,
• Performance Evaluation, and

2. ISO 45001

For occupational health and safety management systems (OHSMS), ISO 45001 is a global standard.

It offers businesses a framework for developing, implementing, and continuously enhancing policies and procedures that guarantee the health and safety of workers and other stakeholders at the workplace.

The ISO 45001 accreditation proves a dedication to establishing a secure and healthy working environment. Moreover, the following seven guiding principles serve as the foundation of ISO 45001, an international standard for occupational health and safety management systems (OHSMS):

• Leadership,
• Worker Involvement,
• Integration,
• Risk-Based Approach,
• Performance Evaluation,
• Continual Improvement, and
• Legal and Other Requirements.

3. PCI DSS

A set of legal requirements known as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) guarantees that all firms maintain a secure environment for credit card information.

Organization compliance must be validated yearly in order to be compliant. All specifications for safeguarding cardholder data are based on the following six guiding principles:

• Build and maintain a secure network
• Protect cardholder data
• Maintain a vulnerability management program
• Implement strong access control measures
• Regularly monitor and test networks
• Maintain an information security policy

4. HIPAA

PHI is protected from unauthorized access, disclosure, or use under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA for short. Healthcare settings frequently use HIPAA, including:

• Health care providers
• Health care Clearinghouses
• Health care plans
• Business professionals who frequently handle PHI

5. SOC 2

Based on five trust service principles, System and Organization Control 2 (SOC 2) establishes standards for managing customer records:

• Safety
• Availability
• Processing integrity
• Secrecy
• Privacy

Each organization that creates SOC 2 reports designs its own controls to abide by one or two of the trust principles. SOC 2 reports are unique to the organization that creates them.

Although SOC 2 compliance is not mandatory, it is crucial for cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS) businesses to protect customer data.

6. GDPR

The European Union (EU) passed the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018. Even if the firm is based outside of the EU or its member states, the GDPR includes defined rules for organizations that gather data or target persons in the EU.

The GDPR’s seven guiding principles include the following:

• Lawfulness
• Accuracy
• Data minimization
• Fairness and transparency
• Purpose limitation
• Storage limitation
• Integrity, confidentiality, and security
• Accountability

Compliance Assessment Checklist

Not each compliance fit for every company, thus we need to calculate the plans and policies before implementing any compliance to the firm. Forcefully implementing compliance can affect your overall operations.

Here are some helpful resources:

You have a wealth of tools at your disposal to build a compliance checklist for your business. Make sure to determine the compliance requirements your firm must meet and make sure you are adhering to each one individually.

Make Cybersecurity Compliance a Priority

Anyone can be a target, anyone could get hurt with financial and trust loss, and anyone could face lawsuits just due to what? All these could happen due to low-level security measures. Thus, we need the support of cybersecurity professionals and robust cybersecurity compliance to save ourselves.

In a risky cybersecurity climate, no company wants to expose itself or its clients to the danger of data breaches.

You now hopefully have a better understanding of cybersecurity compliance and the effects that various compliance requirements have on your company. There are many cybersecurity solutions that can assist you in getting there and maintaining compliance, regardless of whether you need to comply with HIPAA, SOC 2, or PCI DSS regulations.

Conclusion

If you want to learn more about cybersecurity compliance you can get in touch with Craw Security which offers training and certification programs to beginners and IT Professionals working in the IT Sector.

These aspirants can secure their seats among cybersecurity professionals working for organizations in the IT Sector. Craw Security has introduced the Industrial Oriented Innovative Cyber Security Course in Singapore to the students with the support of professional cybersecurity experts.

Moreover, the certification offered by Craw Security is valid in several MNCs thus you won’t need to be cautious about having job opportunities or not. What are you waiting for? Contact, Now!

Frequently Asked Questions

About the What Is Cybersecurity Compliance?

1. What is cybersecurity policy and compliance?

It refers to the set of regulations, policies, and procedures a business uses to safeguard its digital assets and data and make sure they adhere to industry and governmental security standards.

2. What are the cybersecurity policies?

Organizations develop these crucial policies and standards to protect their digital assets and data. The following are five regular elements of cybersecurity policies:

1. Access Control Policy,
2. Data Protection Policy,
3. Incident Response Policy,
4. Network Security Policy, and
5. Employee Training and Awareness Policy.

3. What are security compliance policies?

Organizations create and execute security compliance policies to make sure their activities comply with pertinent laws, regulations, and industry standards in the context of information security. Here are the top five considerations for security compliance policies:

1. Regulatory Alignment,
2. Data Protection,
3. Audit and Monitoring,
4. Incident Reporting and Response, and
5. Documentation and Records.

4. What are the 3 types of security policies?

The 3 primary types of security policies in an organization are:

1. Technical Security Policies,
2. Administrative Security Policies, and
3. Physical Security Policies.

5. What is ISO 27001 compliance?

In order to protect its information assets, an organization must follow effective security controls and procedures that have been designed, put into place, and are still in use according to the international standard for information security management systems (ISMS).

6. What is SOC 2 compliance vs ISO 27001?

In contrast to ISO 27001, which is a more comprehensive information security management system (ISMS) standard applicable to all types of organizations and covering a wide range of security aspects, SOC 2 compliance focuses on controls relevant to service providers’ data security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.

7. What are the 14 domains of ISO 27001?

There are not 14 specified domains in ISO 27001. Instead, it consists of a number of controls and clauses divided into 11 sections. The management of information security is covered in numerous ways in these areas. The key sections of ISO 27001 are:

• Scope
• Normative references
• Terms and definitions
• Context of the organization
• Leadership
• Planning
• Support
• Operation
• Performance evaluation
• Improvement
• Annex A – List of controls and objectives

8. What is the SOC 2 compliance?

Often used by businesses to check the security of their suppliers and service partners, SOC 2 compliance (Service Organization Control 2) is a methodology for reviewing and ensuring the security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of data handled by service providers.